Sex work has aptly been dubbed the “world’s oldest profession,” existing in some capacity since the beginning of recorded history. The practice of prostitution was ubiquitous in societies like Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece and allegedly even enjoyed a sacred status in some ancient cultures. Today, prostitution and sex work is almost universally seen as violent, degrading and shameful with popular morality condemning the practice as the pinnacle of sexual depravity and immorality. In recent years, the practice has become linked to the atrocity of human trafficking, with many victims of human trafficking being sold as slaves into prostitution.
In an effort to combat human trafficking, a bipartisan coalition in Congress recently passed a bill known as the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. The bill, though noble in its intentions, has already generated massive controversy, receiving scathing criticism both from sex workers and their advocates, and even sex trafficking survivors themselves. The bill would essentially shut down online communities like Backpage, where many sex workers conduct business. The crux of the bill is that websites must be held responsible for their users’ content when that content can be seen to facilitate prostitution. Even ignoring the potential free speech concerns that have been raised against the bill, nearly everything about SESTA endangers sex workers and fails to actually help those suffering from human trafficking.
While every reasonable person would surely agree that human trafficking is an evil that must be combated, bills like SESTA are not the answer. While it may be true that many women have been violently coerced into prostitution via sex trafficking, many other women have entered into the profession of their own free will. To conflate sex slavery and sex trafficking with sex work itself is an error that ignores the reality of the many men and women who voluntarily enter into the profession of prostitution. SESTA would effectively rob these voluntary prostitutes of even the most basic autonomy and security. By using online communities to conduct business, sex workers are able to better screen potential clients, are able to operate independently without a pimp and are kept off the dangerous streets. Clearly, SESTA becoming law would endanger all of that.
In addition to endangering sex workers, even many anti-human trafficking organizations have come out against the bill. For one, the idea that shutting down a website could end the international threat of sex trafficking is ridiculous in and of itself. It also fails to understand that law enforcement often uses websites like Backpage to investigate victims of sex trafficking and bring the traffickers to justice. Above all though, it fails to actually address the complex reasons as to why there is a human trafficking crisis, instead finding an easy pseudo-solution that many fear will do more harm than good.
The sex trafficking crisis is not going to be ended by bills like SESTA, and the massive costs of these proposals in terms of reduced safety for sex workers outweighs any potential benefits. I believe that a better solution would actually be to legalize prostitution. Doing so would both create a much safer situation for current sex workers and would allow for victims of human trafficking to feel safer in coming forward to the authorities about their situations, no longer fearful of being arrested themselves for committing the crime of prostitution.
According to one Virginia detective who has spent many years combating sex trafficking, most of the victims of sex slavery currently see themselves as criminals rather than exploited victims, and that has made many of them hesitant to come forward. Legalizing or decriminalizing sex work would potentially end that warped perspective and allow for greater collaboration between victims and law enforcement.
There is also the argument that, with legal prostitution being available, those who purchase sex would shift their consumption to above-ground legal businesses rather than the shady underground rings that enslave people. I am hesitant to make this argument, however, as the studies done on the legality of prostitution and the prevalence of sex trafficking have produced mixed results.
Sex trafficking is an abhorrent practice that needs to be stamped out, but saving victims of human trafficking needn’t come at the expense of the safety of those who voluntarily engage in sex work. Prostitution, something humans have done since the dawn of time, will never go away. People who choose to work as prostitutes are often already in bad situations and we need to begin to factor in their safety and well-being when discussing ways of ending sex crimes. SESTA will do little, if anything, to actually combat human trafficking and instead only further endanger an already vulnerable group.
I’m all for ending the modern-day slavery that is human trafficking, but surely there must be a better way.